


The Same Shade Of Green

by veramoray



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, LadyNoir - Freeform, Late Night Conversations, Light Angst, Marichat, Marinette doesn’t know it yet but she’s pining hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27039859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veramoray/pseuds/veramoray
Summary: “I like it when you smile.”
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 12
Kudos: 96





	The Same Shade Of Green

**Author's Note:**

> oh boy, my first miraculous fic... i just had this idea a couple of hours ago and had to write it down before i forgot! i haven’t watched ML in ages though, so i hope they’re enough in character...

> _If we could just be immobile for some time_
> 
> _And finally figure out the way we feel_
> 
> _About the missing puzzle pieces and cloudy question marks_
> 
> _That still look a bit surreal_
> 
> **\- Adam Young,** _I’ll Meet You There_

* * *

Evenings are always beautiful in Paris. A million bright lights glow against a dark sky, burning out the stars and lighting the city on fire.

It isn’t always so calm and quiet like tonight... sometimes they are racing across rooftops, chasing down one of Paris’s poor akumatized victims. Even the night puts no end to suffering with countless people lying awake, easy prey for Hawk Moth’s dire will.

But this night is free of any akumas, and Ladybug and Chat Noir sit together on one of Paris’s many rooftops, talking through the night. Giggling at some silly thing Chat has said, Marinette turns her gaze to where he leans against his pole, legs dangling off the edge of the roof.

“I like it when you smile,” Chat admits suddenly, his voice quiet. “Not the fake one you always give to the reporters, but... this one. Right here.”

Chat is always complimenting her—well, Ladybug—but something in his tone strikes Marinette, making her heart flutter. “And what’s so special about this one?” she asks, curious.

Chat just grins. “Your eyes get this... sparkle. That‘s how I know it’s real.” The grin subsides as he chuckles a bit sadly, looking down over the city. “Call me cheesy, but... it’s almost like I’m getting a glimpse at the real you. Beneath the mask...”

“You, cheesy?” Ladybug jokes. “Never.”

“Sometimes I wish I knew who you were.” Chat continues, despite her deflection. “No—all the time, actually.”

“Chat...” Ladybug sighs. It’s not the first time they’ve talked about this, and she knows it won’t be the last.

“I know,” he pouts, sagging heavily against his pole. “I’m sorry. I just can’t help but want to know... Ever since I met you I’ve wanted to know you. Every part of you.”

“Chat, I...” _I’m in love with someone else,_ Marinette thinks but doesn’t say. Still, there’s a part of her that wears away each time the subject arises. If feels so wrong, but sometimes... she wants to know him, too. 

Chat is her best friend—someone she knows she can always depend on. That’s part of the reason Ladybug is so adamant they keep their identities a secret. Not only will it protect them, but it also spares any existing personal feelings that might interfere with their teamwork. 

What if they didn’t like each other? 

What if he didn’t like _her?_

A ridiculous question, really. Everybody loves Marinette—she’s friends with _everyone_ at school. Well, everyone except Chloe, but she’s working on that.

Still, something about it bothers her. Chat, who adores everything Ladybug does and says, finding out she’s just some regular school girl... Would he be disappointed? Why does she _care?_

She’s been struggling with her words for too long. But Chat just gives her another sad smile before looking away. “Yeah, I know,” he says. “You love someone else. Whoever it is, I hope they know how incredibly lucky they are.”

Ladybug chuckles. “I’m nothing all that special, Chat.”

“Says the literal hero,” he counters with a smirk.

“You’re a hero too,” she reminds him. “I couldn’t do it without my partner.”

Despite his sadness, Chat’s eyes light up at her praise. “Thanks,” he turns to face her, holding out his fist. “Partner.”

Marinette grins, reaching across the distance to bump her fist against his. “Silly cat.”

“And, who knows,” she continues. The city is bright and alive before them, despite it being so early in the morning. New York has nothing on Paris, she thinks—this city truly never sleeps. And neither do they, it seems.

Marinette’s heart pounds loud in her chest as her next words jumble and crowd up against the back of her teeth. She speaks hesitantly into the night, “Maybe... maybe some day we’ll know each other.”

“My lady,” Chat says in a low voice. “Please, don’t fill this kitty’s heart with false hope.”

“I mean it,” Ladybug presses. “We’re just—we’re just kids right now... we need to take precautions. But I think, maybe one day we’ll _need_ to know. I can’t...” She sucks in a breath at the thought. “I can’t imagine us not ever knowing who the other is. I...” 

Shyly, she meets his hopeful gaze. The space between them seems suddenly much too far for such an intimate and precarious subject. “I want to know you, too. Someday.” 

Chat remains silent, but still Marinette sighs, like an immense weight has been lifted from her shoudlers. Eventually he looks back up at her.

“I just hope you won’t be too disappointed,” he grins a little self-deprecatingly.

Ladybug’s heart lodges in her throat. “No,” she manages. “I couldn’t ever be.” The sad look he’d had on his face almost makes her wish she’d never said anything, but the genuine smile Chat sends her makes it all worth it.

Her lips twist into a teasing smirk, “I don’t think I could be any further disappointed in someone who knows so many _horrible_ cat puns.”

“Me-owch!” Chat gasps, feigning injury, throwing a clawed hand over his heart. “You wound me, My Lady...”

Ladybug huffs, pulling herself into a standing position. “Come on,” she reaches out her hand. “We need to finish patrol.”

Chat grabs on, allowing her to hoist him to his feet. She’s never noticed really, but he’s just tall enough that her eyes are level with his chin. Why this detail is so important for her brain to point out, Marinette has no idea.

His hand is warm and soft in hers, even through the glove, but before she can think too much about it she lets go.

The rest of the night is thankfully uneventful—no crimes, no akumas to fight... and so they finish earlier than usual. Chat bids her a good night as he always does, with a kiss to her hand and a comically low and cheesy bow, before leaping off into the night. 

And Marinette certainly does not blush, and even if she did, it’s not like it means anything. Chat is silly and also her best friend. That’s all.

(That’s all they can be, right now.)

It is with extreme exhaustion that Marinette clambers down the ladder from her balcony and collapses into bed. Before she falls asleep though, she wonders about Chat, and if she’ll ever know the boy behind the mask... What sort of person is he? She hopes he is kind, and sweet like she knows Chat to be.

Her last fleeting thought before finally falling asleep is that, if they ever do reveal their identities, she hopes his eyes are still the same shade of green.

**Author's Note:**

> marinette: i’m just a normal girl with a normal life uwu 
> 
> ...marinette, you are literally friends with a major celebrity. not to mention you’re a superhero in your spare time? hello?
> 
> also, someone has a crush. lmao that’s embarrassing.
> 
> thanks for reading!


End file.
